Russian foreign ministry: Russia and U.S. evenly split costs of newly arrived coronavirus aid

Russia’s Foreign Affairs Ministry has announced that humanitarian aid sent to New York’s JFK Airport to combat the COVID-19 pandemic in the United States was paid for in part by Russia and in part by the United States.

According to official Ministry representative Maria Zakharova, the U.S. paid 50 percent of the costs associated with the delivery, with the Russian Direct Investment Fund paying the other half.

“We took note of the U.S. State Department’s announcement regarding the importance of joint efforts to fight the coronavirus. Among other things, it said, ‘Both countries have provided humanitarian assistance to each other in times of crisis in the past and will no doubt do so again in the future. This is a time to work together to overcome a common enemy that threatens the lives of all of us.’ We agree completely with that approach. The time has come to work together!” Zakharova told the news agency TASS.

A statement from the Russian Direct Investment Fund sent to Meduza’s newsroom added, “We are also working with American companies to transfer a delivery from the U.S. if needed, and we expect that our American partners will be able to pay for half of its cost.”

On March 30, news broke that a Russian plane carrying medical supplies had departed for the U.S. While Kremlin Press Secretary Dmitry Peskov called the load it was carrying “humanitarian aid,” the State Department called it a purchase by the United States.

Russia had previously sent 15 planes carrying medical supplies and military medical personnel to Italy. Italian journalists wrote that the vast majority of the aid was too low-quality to be of use and accused Vladimir Putin of sending it due to political ulterior motives. Moscow denied those claims.